Exploring our Solar System through observations at radio, infrared and visible wavelengths.
Imke de Pater, Professor
Astronomy
Closed. This professor is continuing with Fall 2023 apprentices on this project; no new apprentices needed for Spring 2024.
Over the past years our research group has focused on observations of the solar system using ground-based telescopes equipped with Adaptive Optics systems, in particular the 10 meter Keck telescope in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, and the 8-m VLT telescope in Chili. Adaptive Optics is a cutting edge technology, based on the real-time correction of distortions introduced by atmospheric turbulence, and yields images close to the diffraction limit of the telescope. For instance, images of Io, a satellite of Jupiter and the most volcanically active body in the solar system, reveal details as small as 100 km, making our data comparable with those provided by Space missions.
We routinely observe a wide range of targets, use different observing techniques (and wavelengths) and a broad range of physical principals in our data analysis. Examples include: high temperature volcanoes on Io, weather on Titan, Neptune and Uranus and their ring+satellite systems.
We invite applications to analyze some of our exciting data.
Qualifications: Students with solid bases in mathematics and physics will be appreciated. Knowledge in UNIX/Linux OS, Python, and IDL will be a plus.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: on and off campus; Some meetings will be in-person and some on Zoom
Related website: http://astron.berkeley.edu/~imke
Mathematical and Physical Sciences